Association volunteering: Rewards and benefits
Have you ever considered pursuing a volunteer or leadership position in the AVMA or other veterinary association? Learn about the many leadership and volunteer opportunities in organized veterinary medicine. In this session, panelists share their own experiences, including the personal and professional rewards they get as volunteers. Come away with a deeper understanding of why and how you can get involved in the AVMA and your state, allied, and local veterinary medical associations. Also discover how associations are encouraging participation by members of historically underrepresented populations in the profession.
Participants can expect to learn about:
- Association volunteer and leadership opportunities
- Various pathways to get involved
- Personal and professional rewards of volunteering
 | Dr. Michael Bailey, a member of the AVMA Board of Directors, earned his DVM from Tuskegee University and then completed a small animal rotating internship and radiology residency at Michigan State University. Before joining IDEXX Telemedicine Consultants as an associate medical director, he served on the faculty of Tuskegee University, Michigan State University, and The Ohio State University. He also spent five years supplying imaging services in a referral and ER facility in Pittsburgh, and was lead radiologist for a large (950+) hospital national practice. |
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 | Dr. Andrea Dennis-LaVigne has served as president of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), and as the Connecticut alternate delegate and delegate to AVMA’s House of Delegates. She is a private practice veterinarian and founder, owner, and president of the Bloomfield Animal Hospital in Bloomfield, Connecticut. She earned her DVM from Tuskegee University in 1982. After completing a large animal residency at the University of California Davis, she was an associate professor at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, St. Kitts in the Caribbean. She hosts the Pet Talk radio show on WTIC 1080 and co-hosts the Better Pet segment on WFSB Television with Kara Sundlun and Scot Haney. She also has published articles on veterinary medicine, and several times a year she evaluates medical cases under review for the Connecticut Department of Public Health. Her community service includes working with Habitat for Humanity, and for the past two decades she has mentored hundreds of students in the Hartford county school systems. |
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 | Dr. Jennifer Kim earned her DVM from Tufts University after two years performing cancer genetic research at the National Cancer Institute. She completed a rotating internship at the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan, an oncology internship at Cornell University, and residency at Michigan State University. Since then, she has worked in private practice specialty medicine in the Philadelphia area. Her interests include promoting diversity and mental health awareness in the veterinary community. She has served on the executive board of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association and on multiple committees within the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. |
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 | Adrian Hochstadt is a certified association executive who has held numerous volunteer and executive roles with veterinary medical associations, including serving as deputy CEO of the American Veterinary Medical Association from 2016 through 2021. Among his many roles, he helped create and shape the AVMA’s state advocacy program, working closely with state and allied veterinary medical associations to advocate for veterinary medicine. He also has served in executive roles at the North American Veterinary Community, Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and American Bar Association. He is an active member and former director, treasurer, and president of the Veterinary Medical Association Executives. |
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